The Prince Who Will Become King

Today is the last of my reports. Not sure I'm going to the tournament anymore and most of the fun stuff on the outside courts has finished.

Saturday is the busiest day of the tournament in what I like to call "Bogan Saturday". As it was a very warm day, there was lots of alcohol consumed, the crowd was very loose as more liquid flowed .

Tennis with a bunch of drunks is a very fluctuating experience, sometimes it can be fun and others not so fun. Yes, the siiu needs to get in the bin. Kidney punching is an acceptable punishment for this nonsense, of course Danil Medvedev trolled these gronks expertly.


Bautista Agut vs. Fritz

Definite contrast of baseline styles in this one. RBA who is very solid whereas Fritz is a lot more aggressive and now coached by the legend Michael Russell. With players coached by Mikey Russell, they will be well prepared.

Fritz just came out smoking in the first set. He was slapping forehand winners for fun as RBA was struggling to handle the bouncier conditions. Fritz hands out a bagel with a ration of 12 winners and 4 unforced errors, it's very unlikely to lose a set .



Bautista Agut is a tough competitor and is holding some long service games as Fritz is making a few more errors. RBA was able to get some better depth on his strokes, but still not at his best level where it is almost impossible to hit through. The match is levelled at 1 set all and the same pattern continues in the 3rd set, where both players aren't playing well at the same and struggling with serve. RBA takes the 3rd set, but still under his usual level.

At 2 sets t 1 the match was still up in the air. There wasn't a feeling that RBA was going to run away in the 4th, as he was struggling on serve. Once he was missing serves, Fritz was all over it like a cheap suit and besides the huge forehands is hitting some solid backhands as well to open the court up. .

Fritz is swinging freely, anything slightly short has been getting punished as he turns the match around in the 4th set which he takes. RBA is broken at the start of the 5th set and Fritz unlike in previous sets has been holiding comfortably. The match ends with a double fault from RBA. Fritz definitely deserved the win he had more winners than errors as RBA wasn't able to stem the tide.

Daniel vs. Sinner

The Taro Daniel show continues on with him playing "The Prince" Jannik Sinner. This one is a much different challenge to previous. Sinner is a huge talent with a very professional and excellent attitude.

Daniel started a bit nervously and lost his first service game. It took him a few games to settle into the match. Sinner was a bit up and down and started getting behind in early service games but managed to do enough to take the first.

Jannik Sinner

The Prince had a bit of a letdown as Daniel who improved his level using his beefed up serve to get free points and to open up the court moving Sinner around. Daniel was very solid from the baseline with the forehand dominating stretching Sinner who is making more errors under pressure. Daniel takes the 2nd set 6-1 to level at 1 set all

Even though Daniel took the second set, the feeling of the upset wasn't really apparent. Both guys are starting to play at around the same level. It's great watching tennis as you can see how well balanced Sinner is when he is moving and it's clear the skiing background helped a lot. Daniel still continuing to serve well and has not gone into his shell .

Taro Daniel

Daniel went down 0-40, managed to serve three quality serves to get it to deuce. Sinner was able to break in this service game taking the 3rd set. Once Sinner took a 2 sets to 1 lead, he stepped up with level being a bit more agressive and make the move. He was winning the extended rallies with forays to the net and takes the final set 6-1.

Sinner Winner was too good, he now plays de Minaur. Let's hope he continues in the event. As for Daniel, this was a great tournament for him to continue his excellent start to the year. Thankfully Daniel has been very good in relation to injury prevention and may that continue, he is making changes to his game which are necessary to improve. Based on what I've seen, there is a fantastic base for the year.

Cilic vs. Rublev

Not going to do a full match report on the Cilic vs. Rublev game but what a performance from Marin Cilic. The first two sets he turned back the clock to his US Open title form. Cilic nailed it tactically, which isn't something you would always associate with.

Rublev is the classic example of someone who hits tennis balls and is not a tennis player. He only has the one style, the classic see ball, hit ball and not much else. When it's not working, it tends to be hit it harder. Cilic was getting the first strike in, which was successful if not then he'd be chasing the shadow of the ball.

Cilic stuck to the plan and while Rublev has a sneaky good first serve. The second serve still doesn't have much speed or spin, and Cilic teed off. The great man Fernando Vicente will need to add a few different dimensions. Sometimes take pace of the ball to set up for the big play. Cilic playing FAA next will be interesting.

Observations

Now the Aus Open is over for me. I did enjoy my time, some of the results were shit but Taro Daniel making the 3rd round is a bonus. It was fun to watch tennis live, there are just so many little things you don't see on TV. In addition there are 2 cats who I want to give a shout out to Lance and Owen, these guys are hardcore fans, a love of the obscure and kept me on my toes. .

Hopefully I can get some interviews done this year, but ambition doesn't always match reality.